The personal is political, and rarely more so than in An Impossible Return by Caroline Laurent. The novel won the Franco-Mauritian writer the Prix Maison de la Presse in 2020, among other awards, and is newly translated into English. It tells the story of the forced exile of the 1,500-odd inhabitants of the Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean, from the late 1960s on, through the eyes of islander Marie and young Mauritian secretary Gabriel.
Theirs is a frenzied love affair and it results in a stateless son, Joséphin. But the cruel vicissitudes of colonialism intrude on the would-be family when the Chagossians are expelled from their homes without warning and deported by the UK. (It had to separate the islands from Mauritius so that the US could build an airbase on one.) Paradise lost, indeed.
Structured in short chapters, Laurent’s narrative is vibrant and fast-paced—and adroitly weaves geopolitics into its complex web of relationships. In Mauritius, Marie’s life is marred by poverty and prejudice, while Gabriel grapples with guilt and familial strife. The pair are eventually reunited, but the innocence of their initial union is long gone. Marie goes on hunger strike in an attempt to force her way home.
The story is punctuated by missives from Joséphin, as he recounts his mother’s misfortune and the long fight for justice—“the cruel stepsister of hope”—that spans generations. It culminates in The Hague’s real-life declaration, in 2019, that the Chagos Islands must be returned to Mauritius.
In this respect, the story is still being written. The UK has announced negotiations over the islands’ future, but no outcome is yet in sight. The Chagossians remain exiles cast aside by countries and by history—but taken up, thankfully, by the pen of Laurent.
